(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Minka Kelly reveals that she had a "complicated" relationship with her late mother.

The 31-year-old actress is the daughter of Maureen Kelly, an exotic dancer, and former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay. Minka's mother died of colon cancer in 2008.

She has opened up about her experience growing up with her mother.

"[My relationship with my mother was] pretty complicated," Minka explained to American Cosmopolitan.

Minka remembers her mother as a survivor. A beautiful woman, she used her striking appearance to earn money.

"She was 5'11. Legs up to her ears, gorgeous," Minka described. "She got along on that for as long as she could."

The star and her mother did not have a typical domestic routine. Her mother would often wake Minka up in the middle of the night after her shift, as grocery shopping was often a nocturnal outing.

"That was like our big Friday," Minka recalled. "She would want me to skip school I was like 'No, Mom, I've gotta go to school!'"

Despite their atypical domestic situation, Minka and her mother got along really well.

Minka and Maureen were good friends, but the star says she desperately desired to have a more maternal connection with her mother.

Minka's television show Charlie's Angels will premiere in the US on September 22. (C) Cover Media